Today,
historians of Chinese history still debate over the truth of Emperor
Yongzheng's claim to the imperial throne and whether he had actually
committed patricide and altered the succession will. There is no
empirical evidence to prove that he did commit those acts, and many
believe these rumours were the work of his own brothers, spread
across the empire to tarnish Yongzheng's reputation.

Yongzheng Dynasty is a television drama series
which tries to shed light into Yongzheng's life as one of the sons
of Emperor Kangxi of the Qing Dynasty. The production of the series
has an epic feel to it, and the actual use of the Forbidden City
locations, and its many authentic costumes, weapons and props add
much to the scale and feel of seventeenth-eighteenth century imperial
China.

The series start around the last couple decades
of Emperor Kangxi's reign. Kangxi was the second Manchu emperor
who ascended the throne at aged 7 and ruled for 61 years - the longest
of all Chinese emperors. Through the series we learn about the different
factions at court, the feud between the princes, and we see how
Kangxi was such an excellent ruler and diplomat. We are shown that
Yinzhen (later Emperor Yongzheng), the fourth son of Kangxi, had
only one close friend and ally; his thirteenth brother Yinchang,
who would remain loyal to his brother until his death.

The eighth, ninth, tenth and fourteenth princes
were a faction to themselves, while the first and third princes
were solitary figures. None of them had any power while the second
prince was still the heir apparent, but the result of plots and
court intrigues, this scenario changed. When the heir was demoted,
the rest of the princes fought against each other for the throne.
Most notably, the candidates were the fourth, eighth and fourteenth
princes but during Kangxi's last years, the favourite for the throne
was fourteenth prince Yintai, who was Yinzhen's real younger brother
(ie. they had the same mother).

The TV series led us to believe that while Kangxi
lay in his deathbed, he summoned Yinzhen and made him the next emperor.
Yinzhen acted swiftly to subdue his brothers by controlling the
palace and city guards. With the imperial army in his hands, no
one dared question his claim to the throne, since the succession
will had his title on it.

Yinzhen became Emperor Yongzheng (the third of
ten Qing emperors) and reigned for 13 years. During his reign, his
long-running feud with his rivals, eight and fourteenth princes
continued, but while the latter was later banished from court, the
former still hounded the emperor until his death, even managing
into manipulating Yongzheng's third son into trying to kill the
fourth son, Wanli, the favourite to succeed Yongzheng. Wanli eventually
became Emperor Qianlong - the dynasty's greatest emperor.

Although the Qing were seen as invaders of China,
and anti-manchu feeling were rampant across the empire, Yongzheng
and his father before him did much to ease the suffering of the
people, and in many ways, Yongzheng had particularly worked hard
to raise the living standards of his subjects. His policies were
often criticised by his own courtiers and nobles, and he tried hard
to quell the corruption within his government. Yongzheng was a strong
and able ruler, but many did not see that at the time, and with
only hindsight can we see the hard work he had put into his rule.

Yongzheng's own experience in the succession battle
had shown him that to stop such a thing from happening in the later
generations, he devised a sure-fire way to selecting the next emperor.
A box containing the name of the successor was placed behind the
large tablet that was above the dragon throne, and would only be
opened when the current emperor had died. Another piece of paper
with the same name was usually kept by the emperor himself, and
if the two papers match, then the successor will be announced.

While
most of the TV series focused on the struggles between Yongzheng
and his brothers, his domestic policies, and how many of his own
court officials were often against him, not much was mentioned of
those infamous rumours. Did he or didn't he commit patricide? Was
the succession will altered from fourteenth prince to fourth prince?
Even if Yongzheng was quite a conscientious ruler, these questions
will always cloud his reign. There were also rumours of Yongzheng's
mysterious death. How exactly did he die? Many believe was the work
of a female warrior called Lady Lui, who entered the palace and
assassinated the emperor. Some believed that the medicine the emperor
often took had a profound effect and he died of overdose. Nonetheless,
Yongzheng remains the most mysterious of all the rulers of the Qing
dynasty.

There were also rumours among the Han Chinese
that Qianlong wasn't Yongzheng's actual son, but that of a court
official named Chan. The story was that Yongzheng had no son of
his own and needed one to consolidate his power. This rumour has
no facts to support it, and since official records show that Yongzheng
had sired ten sons is evidently enough to refute these rumours.

Overall, I thought the series was well made and
excellently acted. It is pretty much a history lesson, but the tension
and drama are in an abundance to make sure that none of it is boring.
It certainly made essential viewing in Mainland China, Taiwan and
Hong Kong when it was aired on television, capitivating millions.
If you have an interest in Chinese imperial history, then Yongzheng
Dynasty certainly makes interesting viewing, but caution for all
others. This is no simple stuff.